


Be A Candle [Or The Night]

by Itscalledthedistrict



Series: Across the Stars [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Established Relationship, Fluff, Future Fic, Insomnia, Keith (Voltron)-centric, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:01:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23605726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itscalledthedistrict/pseuds/Itscalledthedistrict
Summary: It doesn’t take a genius to realize hyper awareness and sleep are like fire and ice- they cannot co-exist.For Keith, the former always seemed to win out.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Across the Stars [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1541773
Comments: 7
Kudos: 69





	Be A Candle [Or The Night]

It doesn’t take a genius to realize hyper awareness and sleep are like fire and ice- they cannot co-exist. 

Keith stared up at the ceiling, knowing sleep wouldn’t come easily. These types of nights are too familiar. 

When he was a child, Keith never seemed to get a straight eight hours of sleep. He would always wake up when he heard so much as a door creak. Usually this would happen because his father would have to leave at odd hours for the fire station. Keith remembers hearing his father’s hushed whispers as he explained when he would return to the babysitter. He remembers feigning sleep as his father kissed his forehead and brushed his hair before leaving. Eventually, his father realized Keith wasn’t sleeping well. He got Keith a stuffed hippo and swore it would help him sleep better. It didn’t, Keith still woke up at the slightest drip of water, but it did make the nights feel a little less lonely. 

After his father died and he moved to the Garrison, Keith kept his small hippo under his pillow. He still heard every small door slam and footstep. He often woke to hear hushed conversations of who’s dating who and or what teacher was going to be fired. Keith was just grateful that his roommate was relatively quiet. 

For a while, after Shiro became his legal guardian, Keith moved out of the dorms and into his and Adam’s apartment. Keith quickly found it would be  _ impossible _ to sleep in the small apartment. He could hear everything Adam and Shiro said. He could hear the water running throughout the complex. The air conditioner would come on and turn off at random times. Keith spent more nights tossing and turning than sleeping. His only solace was the small stuffed animal that still proved to be great company. 

His time in the apartment didn’t last long. Keith heard Adam and Shiro’s fight about Kerberos. It ended with Adam declaring it was him or the mission. Shiro chose the stars. 

(Keith really couldn’t blame him- he’d choose space over Adam too.)

It became apparent that Keith and Adam couldn’t get along without Shiro. Keith tried to move back into the dorms but found they were full. Keith officially said goodbye to the shitty apartment after an explosive fight with Adam that ended with an agreement to sever all ties to one another. 

(Of course, now that he’s older, Keith can see how wrong that was. Adam shouldn’t have agreed when Keith stated he should live somewhere else. Adam should have recognised that Keith was a dumb fifteen year old. Instead, he let the helpless fifteen year old fend for himself.)

The next time Keith found himself in an unfamiliar room was when he moved in with Julio and his wife Nina. Julio was a merchant nice enough to not only offer him a job but also a place to stay, food on the table and clothes on his back. For the first time in two weeks, Keith was freshly showered and dressed in appropriate clothes for the weather. He held his hippo tightly and closed his eyes without reservation. For the first time in his teen life, Keith slept through the night without waking up once. At Julio and Nina’s, waking up throughout the night became a rare occurrence for Keith. 

Well. Then he got blasted off into space. That tends to throw everyone’s circadian rhythm off. 

In space, the only times Keith got to truly  _ sleep  _ was because of exhaustion. His hyper awareness was an advantage in the life of a soldier. He was always ready when Allura rang the alarm. He was able to train when everyone else was asleep. He thought about battle plans and strategies as he willed his body to go back to sleep. 

The Castle was full of odd noises, Keith found. However, it was never as bad as Shiro and Adam’s apartment. 

He spent ten years in the Castle’s dorms before returning to Earth. He can honestly say he doesn’t miss the Castle, not when he has his own bed now. His own home. His own place where the floorboards don’t creak, the walls aren’t too thin and there aren’t teenagers gossiping outside of his door. It’s nice to have something he can call  _ his _ again. 

Keith continued to stare up at the ceiling. He heard the door open and shut again. He listened as the sink turned on and off. He listened as his husband moved around the apartment. He listened and waited patiently. 

Lance crawled into bed and kissed Keith’s collarbone. “You’re thinking too loud,” he murmured. Keith was about to issue an apology when Lance kissed him softly. “Come on,” he continued. 

After Lance and he started sharing a bed on the Castle, the Blue Paladin quickly learned of his boyfriend’s horrendous sleeping habits. Lance tried suggesting several things to help Keith sleep easier. Of the many,  _ many  _ things he suggested, only one thing seemed to work. At the first suggestion, Keith rolled his eyes and said it would never work. Lance laughed and declared he underestimated Lance’s power.

Keith waited for Lance to lay down on his back before resting his head on Lance’s chest. He curled one arm around Lance’s torso and allowed the other to wrap an arm around his shoulders. Lance, as usual, fell asleep quickly. Keith slowed his breathing and listened to the slow beat of Lance’s heart.

_ Ba bump. Ba bump. Ba bump _

Hyper awareness and sleep- like fire and ice- cannot co-exist. One usually wins out in the end. 

Keith always preferred when the latter won. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, it is I, still writing this AU in 2020. Hope y'all aren't sick of it yet ;).


End file.
